salary would account for. This proves my theory. Westmore was embezzling money from the Bakery Battles competition.”
“But why kill Saunders?” Jake asked.
Nik bit he inside of her cheek. “Well, we don’t have any proof that he di d kill her. But my gut instinct says he did. Maybe she was in on it with him and he wanted to get her out of the way so he could have all the money, or maybe she caught him at it.”
“What about Conners and Baker?”
“Hard to tell how many people were involved…speaking of Baker, have Styles and McManus checked in yet?”
As if on cue, the small two-way radio attached to Jake’s belt squawked. “Ryan, you there?” A distorted voice sounded from the radio.
Jake plucked it from his belt, pressing the button on the side. “Yep.”
“The subject is on the move. Went to Westmore’s office about five minutes ago. Several minutes later Westmore met her there.”
Nik felt her heart freeze. She looked at Jake.
“A rendezvous? Maybe Ms. Baker was in on it with Westmore - they could have been fixing the contest for her to win. Maybe they framed Corinne Conners to get her disqualified and chased Pearce off,” Jake said.
“It could be that, or Ms. Baker could be doing some amateur sleuthing, which could prove to be fatal. Either way, we better get to Westmore’s office pronto. Have Styles and McManus meet us there.”
Nik grabbed two bullet-proof vests from the hooks on the wall and tossed one to Jake. Shrugging her arms through the vest, she watched Jake wrestle with his while issuing the order to the other detectives through the two-way radio. Then she grabbed her gun and ran to the car. Jake jumped in beside her and they sped off, sirens blaring, toward Bakery Battles Stadium.
###
Lexy felt dizzy. She grabbed the edge of the desk for stability. She had to stall Westmore - keep him talking until she could figure out how to get past him to the door .
“I had a feeling you were on to me. Too bad you didn’t heed my warning,” Westmore sneered, taking a step toward her.
“Warning?”
“The cake. I tried to warn you off, but you couldn’t stop meddling, could you?”
Meddling? There was that word again. Lexy straightened her back, her cheeks growing pink with anger.
“You ruined my cake?”
Westmore laughed. “Too bad it didn’t get you kicked out of the competition…but you won’t be in it much longer anyway.”
Lexy kept her eyes on Westmore, feeling along the desk for something sharp. Where was a good old-fashioned letter opener when you needed one?
“But why?” Lexy could feel the twitch in her eye start up and squeezed her eyes shut to try to stop it. When she opened them, Westmore was almost beside her.
“You were getting too close to the truth. It could ruin me and I can’t let that happen.”
“Truth?” Maybe if she played dumb he’d let her go.
“Don’t play dumb. I know you took my black book. The one with my second set of numbers. In fact, I bet that’s what you are hiding behind your back.” He lunged forward. Grabbing her arm roughly, he shoved his hand into her back pocket and pulled out the book.
“I knew it!” He seemed almost gleeful.
“So you were embezzling money?” Lexy tried to twist her arm free, but Westmore was surprisingly strong for a wimpy-looking guy.
“That’s right.”
“And Saunders was in on it with you…you killed her so you could have all the money to yourself.”
Westmore laughed. “That bitch. She wasn’t in on it; she was blackmailing me! Demanding money every week. She was bleeding me dry. That morning, I met her with a payoff. She was so smug…I just couldn’t let her continue. I handed her the money, but when she turned to leave, I grabbed an apron from the hook and choked the life out of her. Then I took my envelope of money from her, shoved her body under the shelving, turned down the thermostat, and left.”
Lexy’s eyes went wide. The scrap of paper
“But why kill Saunders?” Jake asked.
Nik bit he inside of her cheek. “Well, we don’t have any proof that he di d kill her. But my gut instinct says he did. Maybe she was in on it with him and he wanted to get her out of the way so he could have all the money, or maybe she caught him at it.”
“What about Conners and Baker?”
“Hard to tell how many people were involved…speaking of Baker, have Styles and McManus checked in yet?”
As if on cue, the small two-way radio attached to Jake’s belt squawked. “Ryan, you there?” A distorted voice sounded from the radio.
Jake plucked it from his belt, pressing the button on the side. “Yep.”
“The subject is on the move. Went to Westmore’s office about five minutes ago. Several minutes later Westmore met her there.”
Nik felt her heart freeze. She looked at Jake.
“A rendezvous? Maybe Ms. Baker was in on it with Westmore - they could have been fixing the contest for her to win. Maybe they framed Corinne Conners to get her disqualified and chased Pearce off,” Jake said.
“It could be that, or Ms. Baker could be doing some amateur sleuthing, which could prove to be fatal. Either way, we better get to Westmore’s office pronto. Have Styles and McManus meet us there.”
Nik grabbed two bullet-proof vests from the hooks on the wall and tossed one to Jake. Shrugging her arms through the vest, she watched Jake wrestle with his while issuing the order to the other detectives through the two-way radio. Then she grabbed her gun and ran to the car. Jake jumped in beside her and they sped off, sirens blaring, toward Bakery Battles Stadium.
###
Lexy felt dizzy. She grabbed the edge of the desk for stability. She had to stall Westmore - keep him talking until she could figure out how to get past him to the door .
“I had a feeling you were on to me. Too bad you didn’t heed my warning,” Westmore sneered, taking a step toward her.
“Warning?”
“The cake. I tried to warn you off, but you couldn’t stop meddling, could you?”
Meddling? There was that word again. Lexy straightened her back, her cheeks growing pink with anger.
“You ruined my cake?”
Westmore laughed. “Too bad it didn’t get you kicked out of the competition…but you won’t be in it much longer anyway.”
Lexy kept her eyes on Westmore, feeling along the desk for something sharp. Where was a good old-fashioned letter opener when you needed one?
“But why?” Lexy could feel the twitch in her eye start up and squeezed her eyes shut to try to stop it. When she opened them, Westmore was almost beside her.
“You were getting too close to the truth. It could ruin me and I can’t let that happen.”
“Truth?” Maybe if she played dumb he’d let her go.
“Don’t play dumb. I know you took my black book. The one with my second set of numbers. In fact, I bet that’s what you are hiding behind your back.” He lunged forward. Grabbing her arm roughly, he shoved his hand into her back pocket and pulled out the book.
“I knew it!” He seemed almost gleeful.
“So you were embezzling money?” Lexy tried to twist her arm free, but Westmore was surprisingly strong for a wimpy-looking guy.
“That’s right.”
“And Saunders was in on it with you…you killed her so you could have all the money to yourself.”
Westmore laughed. “That bitch. She wasn’t in on it; she was blackmailing me! Demanding money every week. She was bleeding me dry. That morning, I met her with a payoff. She was so smug…I just couldn’t let her continue. I handed her the money, but when she turned to leave, I grabbed an apron from the hook and choked the life out of her. Then I took my envelope of money from her, shoved her body under the shelving, turned down the thermostat, and left.”
Lexy’s eyes went wide. The scrap of paper
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